Posts filed under ‘Health Care Reform’
New York Says No
New York voted for Medicare yesterday. In a traditionally Republican district, Democrat Kathy Hochul won a special election for an open Congressional seat. The major issue in the campaign was the budget recently passed by Republicans in the House of Representatives that eliminates Medicare as a defined benefit program. Candidate Hochul opposed this change, recognizing it for what it is – an end to Medicare. Voters agreed with her.
The New York vote reminds us that Americans value Medicare. They understand that the Republican Budget won’t save Medicare; it will replace it with individual vouchers toward the cost of purchasing private insurance.
Under the Republican plan, beginning in 2022, people who become eligible for Medicare would instead receive a voucher, worth about $8,000. No one knows what private plans would be available for purchase, what geographic regions would be included, or what health services and providers would be covered. We do know that Medicare guarantees certain coverages, and it has worked to bring quality health care to older and disabled people for 46 years. When Medicare was enacted in 1965, half of all Americans 65 or older had no insurance. Private insurance did not want to cover them. Now, because of Medicare, 95% of people 65+ are covered.
Yesterday, Joe Courtney, the Congressman who represents the district of the Center’s home office also said yes to Medicare and no to vouchers. ( VIDEO: Courtney decries GOP plan to end Medicare as we know it.)
Fortunately, when Kathy Hochul takes her seat in Congress to represent New York, Congressman Courtney will have another ally in efforts to preserve Medicare.
President Obama Supports Medicare
Thank you, President Obama, for proposals that strengthen Medicare. We are so pleased, and relieved, to have a leader in the White House who’s drawn a line, refusing to pretend the elimination of Medicare and Medicaid are necessary to protect America’s future. Instead, he’s called for real, shared responsibility and is continuing efforts to provide affordable health care for all.
The President’s framework for fiscal responsibility protects the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid by building upon the progress made in the Affordable Care Act to cut overall health care costs. His proposals strengthen both programs while achieving savings by addressing Medicare physician payment reforms; reducing overpayments; improving care for those who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid; and focusing on wasteful spending and cost growth.
The President was explicit about his vision for Medicare and Medicaid when he said:
…”let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations.”
The Center for Medicare Advocacy applauds the President for his work to preserve Medicare, Medicaid and the well-being of American families who are already struggling in today’s economy. We thank the President for recognizing that fiscal responsibility for the federal government does not mean eliminating programs like Medicare and Medicaid that work to provide access to health care for vulnerable populations. Nor does it mean saving federal dollars by shifting costs to states, families and taxpayers.
What a breath of fresh air!
Rationing Medicare & Health Care?
The budget released on April 5th by the House of Representatives purports to benefit Main Street Americans.
Once again we’re hearing proposals to “reform” Medicare and to cut the federal deficit. These plans are not about reform or even dedicated to deficit reduction. They are about a long held desire to do away with Medicare, shifting costs to American families who are already struggling.
Newt Gingrich said in the 1990s that he might not be able to eliminate Medicare, but he could watch it wither on the vine. This time, the House of Representatives’ Republican budget actually does eliminate Medicare, replacing it with vouchers to purchase private insurance.
This proposal is reckless and extreme. As with Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D, it will cost beneficiaries and taxpayers more than the traditional Medicare program. With a capped annual voucher to purchase insurance, Medicare beneficiaries will pay more out-of-pocket, get less coverage, and have less access to health care.
Sounds like rationing to us.
What’s The Benefit of De-Funding Health Care Reform?
The House of Representatives will vote today on an amendment to the 2011 Continuing Budget Resolution that would prevent all spending to implement the Affordable Care Act, the health reform law enacted almost one year ago. “This amendment is not in the interest of Medicare, the current fiscal crisis, or families,” says Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. “Defunding health care reform would endanger children who have pre-existing conditions, deprive uninsured young adults from coverage under their parents’ plans, limit Medicare coverage for preventive services, and end important consumer protections for Americans of all ages.” The amendment to defund health care reform would also eliminate tax credits to small business for providing health coverage to their employees, and would increase the deficit by over $200 billion over the next 10 years.
The Center for Medicare Advocacy has already seen how health reform has improved the lives of millions of people. For example:
• Our clients who are Medicare beneficiaries no longer have to pay cost-sharing for preventive services, and they are now eligible for an annual wellness visit.
• Those with high prescription drug costs will pay less out of pocket for their medicine when they enter the prescription drug donut hole or coverage gap.
• Fewer older people with both Medicare and Medicaid had to change their prescription drug plan in order to be in $0-premium Medicare drug plan.
• Four of our own Center staff members have young adult children who are now covered by the Center’s health plan; without the coverage they would be uninsured.
If the House votes to defund implementation of health reform, all of these people, and millions like them throughout the country, will lose the protections they have already received.
“This amendment is driven by ideology, not serious concern for the welfare of Americans, Medicare, small business, or the American economy,” continues Ms. Stein. We urge Congress not to move backwards by depriving Americans of increased access to fair, affordable health care. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act should be fully funded and should go forward so that, by 2014, all Americans have health insurance, regardless of their age, income, or health status.
Come On! Let’s Get On With Insuring People and Focusing On Our Many Real Problems.
From The White House Blog
The Senate and the Affordable Care Act
Posted by Stephanie Cutter on February 02, 2011 at 08:53 AM EST
Instead of moving forward to create jobs and strengthen our economy, Senate Republicans want to refight the battles of the past and vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act – the new health reform law.
It’s important to remember what repealing the Affordable Care Act would mean to millions of Americans. Without the new law:
• Over 1.2 million young adults will lose their insurance coverage through their parents’ health plans.
• Up to 4 million small businesses that would have been eligible for health care tax credits will pay higher taxes.
• 44 million Americans on Medicare will be denied free preventive care and seniors who hit the donut hole will pay more for their prescription drugs.
• Insurance companies will have free rein to once again deny coverage to people, including children, with pre-existing conditions, cancel coverage when people get sick, and limit the amount of care people get, even when they need it.
• Insurance companies will be free to once again raise premiums by double digits with no recourse or accountability.
• As many as 32 million Americans who would have gained insurance under the new law will go without coverage.
• Families will pay higher premiums. For example, compared to what they would have paid without the law, the Affordable Care Act could save a family of four with an income of $33,525 as much as $14,900 per year.
By rolling back the Affordable Care Act, Republicans are also voting to add a trillion dollars to the deficit. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has concluded that repealing the Affordable Care Act would add nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars to the deficit in the first decade – $230 billion – and more than a trillion dollars in the second decade.
And according to independent experts, repealing the Affordable Care Act would prevent 250,000 – 400,000 jobs from being created each year.
President Obama and his team are committed to moving forward and delivering the benefits of the new law to the American people. We know that health reform is already delivering tax credits to small business owners like Betsy Burton of Salt Lake City, Utah. Thanks to the new law, young Americans like Kayla Holmstrom of Brookings, South Dakota are able to stay on their parent’s health plan. James Howard of Katy, Texas, a brain cancer patient, has the treatment he needs. And Cathy Lynn Howell from Marblehead, Ohio finally has insurance after being locked out of the insurance marketplace because of her pre-existing condition.
We featured all of these Americans in our Voices of Health Reform project and they are just a few of the millions of people who are already benefitting from the Affordable Care Act. And we’re committed to moving forward, strengthening the health care system for all of us and delivering the benefits of reform to the American people.
Stephanie Cutter is Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor.
Health Care Reform: A Family Value – Support it!
While some work to repeal Health Care Reform, others are already benefiting from its provisions.
People who have already benefited from health reform are at both ends of the age spectrum. Young and old, they reflect the family value of the law, particularly given these tough economic times when jobs are lost, unavailable, and employers are increasingly dropping benefits.
Here are some stories the Center for Medicare Advocacy has heard in just the last day:
1. A Connecticut State Health Insurance and Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor writes: “I know a lot of our seniors will benefit from the government slowly getting rid of the Donut Hole in prescription drug coverage.” This is echoed by many others including:
• An older Connecticut woman and her niece, from Delaware, both went into the Donut Hole in 2010 and both received $250 as a result of health care reform to help out.
• A gentleman from Florida reached the Donut Hole in both 2009 and 2010, and expects to do so again in 2011. He appreciated the $250 help in 2010 and, given his heart and other health problems, he will certainly benefit from health reform’s 50% discount on Brand name drugs in 2011.
2. Another individual writes:
• “I have a sister who is 25 years old and was unable to find a job that would provide health care coverage due to the economy. She has very serious ear problems and required two major surgeries to replace her ear drum in both ears. If she was not able to be on our parents’ health insurance plan, she would not have been able to afford the surgeries and would have gone completely deaf. It is very difficult to be a young person out of college during these times. Even if you can find a job, it is very difficult to find a full time job with health benefits. I consider myself extremely lucky that I did find a job with benefits, but do know many who had no health insurance for some time. These young people need the cushion of being on their parents’ insurance until 26 when they can find a stable job with health benefits because in this economy, less and less employers are offering benefits to young people.”
The importance of health reform allowing young adults to obtain coverage on their parent’s health insurance plan is reiterated by another individual:
• “ I can personally speak for the kids 26 and under part of this. I have two kids under 26. One does not live at home. He is 22 and working at a job without health insurance. He would have no health insurance without being able to stay on my insurance. He was able to have an expensive blood test to find out if he has a potentially life threatening blood disorder because he had my health insurance to cover it.”
3. Four of the Center for Medicare Advocacy’s own employees have young adult children who have lost their jobs or are employed, but their employers do not provide health insurance. Again, these young people only have health insurance as a result of health care reform which allows them to be covered by the Center’s health insurance. At least one of these young adults has an on-going mix of mental health and medical problems that require on-going health care.
Health care reform is helping families struggling to deal with illnesses, age, unemployment, and underemployment. The law advances family values.
Pants on Fire!
HEALTH CARE REFORM DOES NOT CUT MEDICARE BENEFITS
Health care reform does not cut Medicare benefits. In fact, health care reform expands Medicare coverage, by eliminating cost-sharing for preventive services, adding a yearly wellness visit, limiting some cost-sharing in private Medicare plans, and closing the Part D “Donut Hole.” It also improves the solvency of the Medicare program itself.
Health care reform changes some wasteful Medicare payment policies. Some misstated reports of these changes have resulted in exaggerating public fear of cuts to Medicare benefits.
The Affordable Care Act, aka health care reform, achieves savings in the Medicare program through a series of payment reforms, service delivery innovations, and increased efforts to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. The actual projected reduction in Medicare spending is $428 billion over 10 years, after $105 billion in new Medicare spending is taken into consideration. These projections actually extend the life of the Medicare trust fund by about a decade. None of the payment reforms affect Medicare’s guaranteed benefit packages. Indeed, the law specifically states that the guaranteed benefits in Medicare Part A and Part B will not be reduced or eliminated as a result of changes to the Medicare program.
Health Care Reform Rolls Back The Privatization of Medicare.
Most of the new law’s Medicare “cuts” are actually reductions in subsidies to private Medicare plans, which were begun in 2003 during the Bush Administration. These overpayments to private insurance companies, (known as “Medicare Advnatage” plans) will account for about $130 billion in Medicare savings over 10 years. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurance companies that contract with the government to provide Medicare for people who choose to enroll in a private plan. By law these plans must provide all of the guaranteed benefits under Part A and Part B.
Under the funding mechanism in effect before enactment of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare Advantage plans were paid, on average, about 13% more than the traditional Medicare program to provide the same coverage. These extra payments resulted in Medicare Part B premiums being $3.35 higher per month for all beneficiaries in 2009, and resulted in the federal government (and taxpayers) spending $14 billion more than would have been necessary, if Medicare Advantage enrollees had remained in the traditional Medicare program.
The Affordable Care Act will end these wasteful overpayments by phasing in reductions in Medicare Advantage payments, starting with a payment freeze in 2011. Medicare Advantage payments will be based on national county benchmarks, with plans being paid a fixed percentage of traditional Medicare costs. As a result of this payment formula, plans in some lower-paid counties, generally rural and suburban areas, will continue to receive payments that exceed the traditional Medicare amount, while plans in higher paid counties, many of them large cities, may see substantial reductions. Rebates (an amount plans receive if they bid less than the county benchmark) will also be reduced. The new payment structure also provides for an increase in payments by up to 5% for plans that receive four or more stars for high quality on the CMS star rating system.
Health care reform cuts wasteful payments put in place to encourage private Medicare. Health care reform increases benefits for all people with Medicare, decreases Medicare costs for beneficiaries and taxpayers, and extends the life of the Medicare program.
Health care reform is good for Medicare. Pass it on!
Health Care Reform: Standing Up To Insurance Companies and Standing Up For People
OPINION – Wall Street Journal, SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Health Insurers Finally Get Some Oversight
By KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, Secretary of Health and Human Services
In the last two weeks, my department has been accused of “thuggery” (this editorial page) and “Soviet tyranny” (Newt Gingrich). What prompted these accusations? The fact that we told health-insurance companies that, as required by law, we will review large premium increases and identify those that are unreasonable.
There’s a long history of special interests using similar attacks to oppose change. In the mid-1960s, for example, some claimed Medicare would put our country on the path to socialism.
But what is really objectionable about these comments is not who they’re attacking, but what they’re defending. These critics seem to believe that any oversight of the insurance industry is too much, and that consumers would be better off in a system where they have few rights or protections.
Over the past decade, Americans have seen what happens when insurance companies have free rein. The cost of health insurance has more than doubled, while millions of hard-working Americans lost their coverage or drained their savings to keep up with premiums. Employers, big and small, have struggled mightily to absorb these cost increases and have been losing the fight.
As insurance commissioner and governor of Kansas, I saw firsthand how these rate hikes burdened people. I spoke with families who watched their insurance go up 20%, 30%, even 40% a year without explanation. I met with small business owners who had stopped offering health insurance to their employees because they couldn’t afford the annual double-digit premium increases.
A woman who wrote to me recently summed up the frustration that many feel. “As a self-employed, hard-working person,” she wrote, “I have no good options for health coverage.”
Yet even as our insurance markets have failed Americans time and time again, special interests successfully blocked reform. That’s changing with enactment of the new health insurance law. Under the Affordable Care Act, 46 states have already received grants to beef up their premium-review and oversight capabilities. And additional funding is on the way.
The law also gives clear instructions to the new state-based health insurance marketplaces called exchanges that will be created in 2014. As the exchanges decide what plans to include, they must incorporate recommendations from states about whether particular health insurance issuers should be excluded based on a pattern of excessive or unjustified premium increases.
We are already seeing this new level of accountability pay off. Last week, North Carolina’s largest insurer announced a “one-time refund that will return $155.8 million to more than 215,000 individual Blue Cross Blue Shield customers as a result of the Affordable Care Act.” This rebate will put an average of $720 back into the pockets of each of those policyholders. In addition, thanks to diligent work by North Carolina’s insurance commissioner, they’ll see their premiums rise by less than 6% in 2011, thesmallest rate increase in four years.
A day after Blue Cross Blue Shield’s announcement, seniors with private Medicare plans got some news that most Americans haven’t heard in years: Their premiums will actually go down 1% next year, even as many of them enjoy better benefits.
The Affordable Care Act is bringing some basic fairness to our health insurance market. So when I learned that a handful of insurers around the country are blaming their significant rate increases on the new law, even though the facts show that the impact of the law on premiums is small, just 1% to 2% declining over time‹I let them know that we’d be closely reviewing their rate hikes.
It’s understandable that some insurance companies and their allies don’t welcome this change. They’ve made large profits from the status quo. And it’s not surprising, though still disappointing, that House Republicans have recently pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act and get rid of these new consumer protections.
If critics really want to go back to the days when insurance companies ran wild with no accountability, they should have the courage to say so openly instead of hiding behind distracting attacks. In the meantime, we’re going to keep standing up for American families and small business owners who deserve a system that works for them.
Ms. Sebelius is the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704082104575515851336184716.ht
Health Reform Hits Main Street
Confused about how the new health reform law really works? This short, animated movie, written and produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation and narrated by Cokie Roberts, explains the problems with the current health care system, the changes that are happening now, and the big changes coming in 2014.
CMA Health Policy Blog 